I got up in a stupor for the 7:30 AM ride with the shop crew and forgot my Centrum Performance so substituted it with a strong coffee instead.
How many of you guys take vitamins out there? My approach is pretty shotgun. Michael R. Rabe got me started on Centrum Performance and I have never looked back.
I take Centrum as well, not sure if it really makes a difference though.
I used to take Winning Combination’s Elite Formula, for the last year I’ve been taking Primal Nutrition’s Damage Control. Expensive, good stuff.
I think vitamins make some kind of difference, especially in your immune system.
I wonder how many of them are essentially the same?
multi every morning and last fall started using greens +. first winter i didn’t get a cold of any sort (knocking on wood) and we had quite a few go through this season.
I’m a supplementer…but only take what’s on sale. It’s still probably best to get your nutrients from your dietary intake, but, not many of us do that good a job in selection…I know I don’t. I also take Glucosamine Sulfate.
My significant other got me started taking a multi vitamin, I haven’t noticed any difference between days I remember and days I don’t. Joe Friel commented on vitamains at saturdays seminar, He said most are better if gotten through good eating. He has his athletes take a large dose of C, E, and something else but that’s it. The amounts he was recommending were well in excess of what a multi would give you.
ULTRA VITA MAN(Vitamin World) + CALCIUM(1500mg) + VITAMIN C(500mg) - every morning
During the winter I add another 500mg VITAMIN C/day.
It definitely helps the imune system - too bad it does not make me less tired from training! 
Tom, I take a multi, Vitamin E 400 IU and a B50, plus 1000 mg Vitamin C. I take it after supper since I have coffee in the morning and I was told that caffeine interferes with absorption of the Vitiamins. I try to take the Vitamins 7 days a week, but often forget and end up averaging 5 days per week.
I take E-Caps Premium Insurance Caps, but only during the training season. Improved protection from illnesses that could limit my training. Helps me overcome my dietary mishaps.
I take a multi in the morning and an antioxidant (C, E, A, Selenium) after swimming or a long ride. I was told that it helps but I can’t actually tell the difference.
I’ve been on Solgar products for about a year (completely cold/illness free! - concidence??):
Multi-Vitamin
Advanced Anti-oxidant Formula
Essential Amino Acid Complex
Glucosamine/Chondroitin Complex
I take some heat at work for my “pill popping”, but I feel pretty good and am not willing to give them up.
And as an added bonus I have dazzling urine!!!
I take a handful of vitamins & minerals most mornings - a multi, extra C and E, CoQ10, chromium picolinate, calcium, ginseng, etc… I have no idea if it does me any good. I can’t say I feel any different, although if I take the multi on an empty stomach I get nauseaus.
I recently read Eating for Endurance and also spoke briefly with Nancy Clark at the Boston expo - both the book and Nancy advocate eating for most nutrients, not supplementing. After reading the book and talking with Nancy, I’m gonna give it a try, and stop most of the supplements and pay more attention to my diet, which is probably pretty good to begin with. Once I run out of sups, I won’t replace most of them and see if I notice an impact. If not, I figure I’ll save myself some money.
I’ve been taking them for a while, but not always as consistently as I should. The last time I saw my doctor(Yes, I get an annual exam. Crazy!) he recommended a multivitamin, along with a folic acid supplement(which many multi’s now contain.) He basically said that while you may not feel noticably better for taking a multi, it will help your body get what it needs to work properly, and will help you maintain good health as you age. This becomes more important as you age, because you eat less and are less likely to get the minerals and vitamins in your diet than when you are young, immortal, and get a nutritional, balanced diet of Super-Sized MegaMeals. ;p
Also critical for the women is that they should (probably) be taking calcium and iron supplements in addition to a multi.
How you can tell if your multi is working: it turns your pee bright orange! Okay, fine. That was sophomoric and just what you probably expect from me.
And yes, I buy the no-name, discount vitamins. 
I did take Centrum performance but compared and Albertson’s mulit vit has ess the same ingredience at approx 1/2 the price and it contains the antioxident group as well. Also take omega-3 twice a day recommended by my coach and I think it has helped with general aches and pains associated with softtissue issues.
Thanks for the reminder, I haven’t taken mine for about a month. Do you think I could have knocked a few seconds off my 5k pace if I would not have forgotten?
I take a multi from Vita-World most days, maybe 5 out of 7 days I remember to take it. Been thinking of adding an antioxidant and just stated (today) Glucosamine/Chondroitin b/c of knee surgery for meniscus issues.
As one of the above posters mentioned, I have also heard that coffee decreases absorption so maybe I’ll switch to taking it at dinner time but I’m sure that I will forget to take it more often that way.
Andrew
I’ve been a big fan of Solgar VM-75 but recewntly switched to Ablertosn’s on sale. Basically the same stuff. Since we breakdown our muscles only to build them back up again and since most muscle repair occurs at night during sleep I take mine before bed around dinnertime. That way all the tools & parts are available when I need them!
I take Damaga Control Master Formula every day. It rulz!!!
I take the Costco version of Centrum Multi, a Super B Complex w/added Vit C, an Antioxidant w/minerals (A, C, E, Zinc, Selenium, Copper, and Manganese) and also a Glucosamine/MSM complex.
I try to take daily, but like most, I usually forget a couple of times a week, usually when my wife puts them in the cabinet because she doesn’t like to see all the clutter on the counter. I don’t know how much benefit I get from all this stuff but I feel better mentally just for taking them.
Tucker